Choice: The Children of Arceus
by Aokage
Summary: 70 years ago, Pokemon began to disappear. Around the same time, human beings known as Children of Arceus who wield the mysterious powers of Pokemon began to surface. A boy named Aaron is about to begin a journey with his own Child of Arceus and uncover the mysteries that were left in the wake of the disappearance of Pokemon. A Gijinka Fic, with mostly OCs. Please rate and review!


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, only my own OCs. All rights go to Nintendo, Gamefreak and Satoshi Tajiri. **

**Hey Folks! This is my very first fic, and I am quite excited to present it to you all! This will be mainly a gijinka fic, though there a few actual Pokemon. Rated M for violence and maybe some lemons WAY in the future. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Personal Space**

Aaron Statman was excited. He was going to be turning thirteen today, but that wasn't the exciting thing. He was going to have a party with his family and friends and probably get a pretty large amount of presents, but that wasn't what excited him. The thing that excited Aaron was the fact that today was the beginning of his journey. Aaron was going to be meeting his Child of Arceus partner today, and they were going to have an interview to get to know each other. He was also going to be given all of the equipment he needed to become a trainer. He was starting down the long road of being a trainer, and he had never been more excited in his life.

"Mom! I can't find my ID!" He was so excited that he was acting a little bit scatterbrained. He was running around his room, pulling things aside as he tried to find everything he needed for one of the most important events in his hopefully long career as a Trainer. His mother came upstairs and almost immediately spotted his ID card on the floor under his desk and with a quick sigh put her hands on Aaron's shoulders.

"Aaron, you really need to calm down. It's not going to do you any good if you're all over the place." She looked him in the eye and he stopped his frantic search, but he still had an impatient look on his freckled face. "I can't keep calm! This is going to be amazing Mom! I hope I get a strong one, like a fighting type or a dragon type!" Aaron's mother had already heard him talk about what type he wanted and how excited he was for weeks; he hadn't stopped talking about being a Trainer for even a day.

She really loved how focused and intense her son got when he wanted something. It was one of his best traits and she really believed it would take him far in life. That same intensity also made him ignore many other important things, but everyone had their issues to work through. Finally, she ran her hand through his rust-red hair and smiled at him, which immediately made him stop talking.

"Well to find out you're going to have to get your things together first. Now go pick up your ID, it's under your desk. Get dressed and I'll have breakfast ready in a few minutes, okay?" Aaron glanced over to his desk and was a little dumbfounded, since he had looked in that area so many times. He really did need to calm down a bit. He grinned and apologized, and then thanked his Mom for the help. She went downstairs and Aaron continued getting dressed.

He put on a pair of cargo shorts with tons of pockets, which he was going to be making use of quite a bit, a simple black t-shirt with the word "GRAND" in bold red letters, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. He walked into the bathroom and brushed his short messy red hair into something that was at least somewhat presentable. He brushed his teeth and then looked at himself in the mirror to make sure he looked okay. He paused for a moment over his eyes which were a vibrant green. His mom always fawned over those. Considering himself in good enough shape to be seen outside he nodded before finally running downstairs to get breakfast.

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After Aaron finished breakfast, he got his shoes on and grabbed the backpack his Dad had just gotten him the other day. It was black with a blue trim, and like his shorts, had as many pockets as the manufacturers could fit on the thing. He waved goodbye to his mom and she smiled and wished him luck. He walked out of the door, and after getting halfway down his block, he felt so pumped that he decided to run the rest of the way to the Stone Institute.

The gigantic set of buildings that Aaron needed to go to stood out with their sheer massiveness and elegance, so it was impossible not to notice them. The specific building that Aaron needed to go to was a smaller but inviting white dome shaped building with a Pokeball that had a gray top half and a white bottom half which was the insignia for the Stone Corporation above the entrance.

Aaron walked into the reception hall and told the receptionist his name who directed him to have a seat. There were about eight other kids sitting in the reception hall too who were his age more or less, but no one appeared to be older than 16. After a short time, a few more kids showed up and then they were all led into a spacious room with several desks. It appeared to be a large classroom with a large whiteboard at the front. The lights suddenly went off and a projector in the back of the room started up, casting the image of a man wearing a gray suit who looked to be around his late fifties. His hair was light blue and cropped neatly, and he smiled in a way that put a person at ease just by looking at him.

"Thank you all very much for coming. I am Roger Stone, CEO of Stone Corporation. As I'm sure you all know, every so often unique humans who we call Children of Arceus are born. To tell you all about the present though, I must tell you about the past. About 100 years ago, this world was widely inhabited by creatures known as Pokemon. These mysterious creatures came in all different shapes and sizes and had unbelievable powers. However, around 70 years ago, Pokemon began to disappear from the world. Since then, the unique individuals who are known as the Children of Arceus began to appear. They have the ability to use many of the powers that Pokemon could use in the past. They are also far more resilient than normal people and actually have a slightly different genetic structure than you and I.

"And this brings us to all of you. In the past, young boys and girls like yourself would be given a Pokemon so that they may begin a journey. This journey would increase the power of their Pokemon while also teaching them about the bonds that human beings and Pokemon share. Even though Pokemon have almost disappeared, the spirit of that journey lives on through the one that you all are about to undertake. You will help these children, who are around the same age as you I might add, to reach their full potential, as well as to find your own potential.

"Children of Arceus need human partners to direct them and train them so that their powers can grow. As a Trainer, you will travel the world with your Child of Arceus, or Arc for short, and battle other Trainers who have Arcs. Eventually, you may find that you and your Arc are powerful enough to challenge a Gym Leader. If you defeat a Gym Leader, you will receive that gym's Gym Badge as a sign of recognition. If you can prove that you and your Arc have the skills and teamwork necessary to be considered one of the best by obtaining eight Gym badges, then you may take part in the prestigious CoA League.

"There is a great journey ahead of you all. Even if the path seems difficult, believe in yourself as well as your partner and you will most definitely succeed. I hope that you all make many wonderful memories together with your Child of Arceus." The hologram of Mr. Stone gave another warm smile and pointed off to the right side of the room.

"Now, I leave you in the very capable hands of Professor Lauren Willow. She will explain to you all of the finer details of being a Trainer as well as introduce you to your Child of Arceus partner. I wish you all the best of luck! The floor is yours, Professor Willow." With a slight bow, the smiling image of Roger Stone cut out and the lights in the room came back on.

A woman in a labcoat who appeared to be in her mid 20's walked right in front of where the hologram stood just a moment before. Her platinum blonde hair was very well kept, and she wore it in a ponytail that came down to her shoulders. She wore a white blouse and black miniskirt under her labcoat, and in her hand was a Pokeball. She surveyed the room for a moment with piercing blue eyes that were shocking in how bright they were.

"Well, I hope you all enjoyed Mr. Stone's introduction. Welcome to the Stone Corporation Science and Research department. I am the department head, Lauren Willow, and I, and my staff, will be in charge of giving you your very first Arc. Now I'm going to explain a few things that Mr. Stone didn't cover and then you'll get to meet your Arc." As she spoke, she stared at each child individually. Her eyes stopped on Aaron just a little bit longer than the other kids, but he didn't seem to notice.

Aaron was even more pumped up than before by the CEO of Stone Corporation's speech. The man seemed like a very kind person, and his words inspired Aaron. All of the other kids seemed to have the same feeling, and a sense of excitement that verged on impatience filled the room. Professor Willow went over some important things, but Aaron already knew most of it from his own research. They lived in a world where information was very easy to come by with the advent of the Internet. After concluding her speech and wishing all of the kids luck, she beckoned them all to follow her to another room.

Aaron giddily followed her through a door into another room that appeared to be a much smaller reception hall with a set of double doors which led somewhere that Aaron couldn't see. Professor Willow turned to all of the would-be Trainers and informed them that she would be waiting in her office, and that they would be called in one by one. They all had a seat, each of them anxious to start their journey already. Aaron in particular was practically bouncing in his chair. After a relatively short period of time, an aide walked up with a clipboard and called out a name. A girl who looked about 14 got up and followed the aide through the double doors.

The girl didn't reappear, and about thirty minutes later the aide called another name. This process was repeated for what seemed like hours to Aaron. Finally, there were only three of them left when the aide called Aaron's name. He quickly stood up and followed the aide through the double doors and out into a long hallway. At the end of the hallway was a door with Professor Willow's name on it. After wishing him luck and patting him on the back, the aide knocked on the door and let Aaron in.

Behind the desk was Professor Willow and in one of the two chairs on the other side of the desk was the most beautiful girl Aaron had ever seen. She had short blonde hair that was cropped on both sides of her face. Her skin was silky white, and accented by her eyes, which were blood red and slitted like a fox. The thing that struck Aaron the most was the fact that she had animal-like ears on top of her head that were the same color as her hair and a large blond fluffy tail with red at the tip that was sticking out of a hole in the back of her chair. The girl looked to be about his age, though somehow she carried herself in a manner that made him think she could have been older. She wore very fine clothing, and around her neck was a gold necklace with a blue heart shaped crystal at the center.

"Hello Aaron, I'd like you to meet Sherry." She motioned to the girl who nodded her head in acknowledgement. Aaron returned the greeting and then did something he probably shouldn't have. Aaron was extremely excited over the fact that he was getting an Arc after all, so his head was not completely there. Not to mention that he was also extremely hungry. He wondered why they didn't provide a snack for the new Trainers while they were waiting. "Wow! Your tail is awesome!" he said, grabbing her tail as Sherry let out a very girly scream that caught him by surprise.

"What are you doing!?" She screamed at him, standing up from the chair and turning away so he couldn't get to her tail. Aaron looked up at her in confusion, and then smiled a little sheepishly. "Sorry, I just wanted to see how it felt. I've never met an Arc before." At this, Professor Willow's jaw dropped. "Aaron, I know you're not really used to being around Arcs, but she's still a girl so please have some manners!"

He quickly realized that it was rude not to ask permission before you do things and apologized more earnestly this time. "I'm really sorry Sarah,-'Its Sherry!'- Right! Sorry! I'm not great with names! Next time I'll ask you before touching your tail."

"You're not supposed to touch other people's tails in general!" A rage vein appeared on Sherry's temple as her face became red with exasperation. Professor Willow raised an eyebrow at the situation "That's not something you hear every day." She commented quietly. "In any case, Aaron, you're going to be a Trainer. Learn to act a little more mature. Sherry, please relax. Although he seems to lack a little bit of etiquette and common sense, he scored the highest on the Trainer aptitude test." At this, Sherry's expression went from angry to surprised, though she still seemed to be more than a little peeved. Professor Willow continued "Now both of you have a seat so we can continue with introductions. We don't want the other kids waiting too long."

Aaron and Sherry obeyed, though Sherry's face was still flush with anger. She muttered under her breath about being stuck with an idiot. Professor Willow cleared her throat, and put on a serious face. "Okay, Aaron, Sherry, let's start over. Introduce yourselves." When it became clear that Sherry wasn't going to go first, Aaron stood up.

"Hello Sharon, er- Sherry! Sorry..I'm Aaron Statman and I'm thirteen years old as of today. I've always wanted to be an Arc trainer, and because of that I got really excited. I have a tough time thinking when I'm excited, so please forgive me for being kind of a dummy. I really look forward to being your trainer and having an adventure together!" Sherry's expression hardened at his slip up, but softened slightly when he suddenly bowed his head at her. Finally, she sighed and stood up. "I'm Sherry Pendleton. I'm a Fennekin Child of Arceus. I'm also thirteen, and it'll be nicer to meet you when you learn some manners!" Aaron bowed his head lower, and Sherry's face softened further. She tapped him on the shoulder gently and averted her eyes from him as she held her hand out for him to shake. "Well, anyways, I guess I look forward to working together with you too."

Aaron smiled and stood up straight. Although he felt like an idiot for making such a terrible first impression, he felt relieved that Sherry was someone who was pretty forgiving. He cheerfully shook her hand. Professor Willow thought to herself that Aaron really needed to work on his situation awareness if he wanted to be a good trainer. He did seem to have a lot of potential though. Professor Willow hadn't seen Trainer Aptitude scores like his in a long time. She decided that she was quite curious how Aaron's career was going to play out.

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**Hey guys! After several months of having this first chapter 90% done, I've finally finished it! I'd like to thank my buddy and co-author Kotei no Yami for helping me get this thing done and also encouraging me along the way to make this. So that was it for the first chapter, please rate and review!**


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